An agent of the Citadel office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance. Although based on the Salarian Special Tactics Group, Spectres are expected to rely on their own resources, rather than being constantly funded by a governing body. However, they usually operate outside the bounds of galactic law.

Rather than being trained, the Citadel Council selects notable soldiers who have proven themselves capable of the strenuous responsibilities of upholding galactic law. Some agents are sympathetic peacekeepers who resolve issues with minimal bloodshed, while others are cold-blooded killers who eliminate problem individuals.

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From the James Bondfilm series: Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion

Blofeld: "I am Supreme Commander of SPECTRE, the Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. Yesterday morning, the American Air Force launched 2 cruise missiles from Swadley Air Base in Great Britain. Through the ingenuity of SPECTRE, the dummy warheads they carried were replaced with *live*, *nuclear* warheads. Your weapons of destruction are now safely in our possession and will be moved to two secret targets. Please note the serial numbers of the missiles; they will confirm the truth. Your weapons of deterrence did not deter us from our objective! A terrible catastrophe now confronts you. However, it can be avoided by paying a tribute to our organization, amounting to twenty-five percent of your respective countries' annual oil purchases. We have accomplished two of the functions that the name SPECTRE embodies: terror and extortion. If our demands are not met within seven days, we shall ruthlessly apply the third: revenge!"